LA City Workers.com – City of LA Blog

Tuesday May 04, 2010 Los Angeles, CA Story by LA City Workers.com Writers

Executive Director Bob Aquino, Gone.

Assistant Executive Director Patti Loparo Gone.

MOU 08, Gone.  MOU 17 Gone. External Union Organizers Gone.

What is left and what is ahead for EAA.

In the last few months things have gone from bad to worse for EAA the staff has been leaving or have been asked to leave in record numbers, the one person left to run the show is the Interim Executive Director Michael Davies and 4 Member reps. That number was reduced after the crippling loss of the two units last year to Powerhouse SEIU, an International Union with experienced labor leaders and organizers who are experienced in picking the low hanging fruit from the union tree.

Bob Aquino Former Executive director recently departed now his Assistant executive director Patti has joined him rather then taking over as executive she has reportedly left EAA as well.

With Weeks left in the current contract EAA members have begun to quietly ask themselves what’s next for our union and our employment.

CAO Taking No Prisoners

Currently EAA members are left to bargain in a climate where employees are being asked to take a 16% cut in pay and additional benefit cuts, the CAO is left with very little room to make cuts and has been directed by the mayor to achieve the cuts from those who are not in contracts first.

Best last final? What will the best last final offer be to EAA members? Currently talks of 0% for the first year and 2% the second with a third year possibly reaching 3% is the best they have been looking at faced with a coalition unwilling to give back any further and the threat of layoffs and furloughs continuing for EAA members the CAO has the upper-hand and the union is left to bargain with an Interim Executive Director.

Interim Executive Director Michael Davies is a Transportation Planner for the City of LA, a far cry from the ranks of other labor leaders in Los Angeles who have decades of experience behind them.

EAA Members are quietly asking themselves if they made the wrong choice in previous decertification movements and this year will be key to getting those answers, two unions bargaining separately for it’s membership, with the same CAO.

Who will end up getting a better deal? Will the two sides be played against each other to garner more concessions?

What is clear is that EAA is having serious staffing issues at the most critical time in the most volatile economic climate in a hundred years it is down to a handful of staff, and nothing positive is on the horizon, just the opposite SEIU is reportedly getting hundreds of member inquiries from EAA members asking if they will have the chance to get out of EAA and join SEIU.

SEIU had no comment on it’s plans to allow the EAA members to join it’s LA City Professionals organization but rumor has it they will allow the eaa members to vote on leaving for the Purple professionals side.

Having lost it’s leadership, several of it’s largest Units and left with a transportation planner as Executive director, the outlook is not good for EAA with several of it’s units having voted so closely the last time to decert the financial hit that losing thousands of members has taken on the EAA budget and the lack of staff a decertification attempt would be crippling to EAA and the membership is ultimately going to have a choice to make Stay with EAA or take a chance on SEIU which is one of the largest unions in the country all this while EAA is still furloughed.

Only time will tell which method of thinking will prevail but it is clear from EAA staff actions to the conversations in the hallways, things are not looking good at EAA.

One positive note the EAA IUPA Local 8000 website is looking very good and the staff responsible for that are doing a fantastic job!

Same story new year.

Layoffs doomsday oh but wait give up 26 furlough days for EAA Members and 16 for coalition take a pay cut and we will call it even.

So So sorry to disappoint the Mayor but neither the Coalition of City Unions & SEIU, or EAA are considering anything less then a NO GIVEBACK policy.

With the departure of Bob Aquino from EAA reported earlier this week, and confirmed yesterday and the coalition of City Unions firm stance on no givebacks the Mayor and his scare tactics have only worked to solidify the workforce and the unions.

After working so hard to pass an early retirement plan that the workers footed the bill for and having all of the credit for that stolen by the mayor, the IBEW DWP fiasco giving them a 20% raise followed weeks later by a call for two day a week furloughs of civilian employees to pay for it civilian employees have had enough.

Most members of the unions can see for themselves the vacant positions cut and they understand how hard things would be on them financially if they did take any further pay cuts, if the Mayor does go through with a small number of layoffs, cost of living raises get moved forward which can only help most employees.

“We have sacrificed already,” said Cheryl Parisi, chair of the Coalition of City Unions. “We had an agreement to forgo our raises and not face a furlough. The city is going back on its word.”

“Each of the layoffs in his budget represent a service – a park, a library, a public safety service – that would be cut back,” said Bob Schoonover, president of SEIU Local 721.

Our message is strong, Keep LA Strong and Keep La WORKING!

Coalition of City Unions released their own budget which the Mayor has ignored keeping people working and the quality of life in LA.

It is clear and has been for a while this rhetoric is aimed at taking money out of our pocket and we are over the games that city hall wants to play we are organized and we will fight any attempt at layoffs or wage concessions for the membership.

It is time the mayor who is under recall, and the council understand, We have done our part now it’s their turn, get to work and fix LA don’t damage the workforce for years to come by looking at them as the only budget solution, it is shortsighted and foolish to keep going back to the well until it runs dry.

No Furloughs and No Givebacks Simple enough.

We simply can’t trust city hall and will fight them all the way.

EAA Executive Director Bob Aquino challenges Board of governors for referendum on his future.

Should I stay or should I go now?

If I go there will be trouble & if I stay it will be Double.

EAA Leader Bob Aquino blasted the elected board of governors going directly to the members laying it all out on the line.

In an email sent directly to the EAA Members,  Mr. Aquino reportedly laid out the obvious,  EAA will continue to be raided by SEIU,  City Management is much cozier with SEIU and Julie Butcher then EAA,  and that he wants the membership to decide his fate and their future.

Below are the referendum questions as reportedly posed by Bob Aquino,

Should your Board of Governors immediately negotiate termination to Executive Director Aquino’s contract, and hire a new Executive Director in an effort to establish better rapport with City management?
OR
Do you support keeping Executive Director Aquino through the end of his contract in August of 2011?

What is not mentioned in the email according to sources familiar with EAA is that in order to terminate the contract Aquino has, EAA would be on the hook financially for a very large amount of severance which has caused the cash strapped union & the board of governors to hold off on any action resulting in a large expenditure.

So the real questions are;

Is Aquino really to blame for the missteps during the raid?

Is EAA a sinking ship ripe for a takeover by SEIU?

Do Members realize just how many bad choices the board of governors made during the raid essentially handing over the election to SEIU?

When EAA members face certain decertification attacks from SEIU, the City of LA is determined to fight EAA at every turn, and the budget picture looks grim, who would want to stay?

Should the members have the right to decide on ending the contract of their executive director without interference from the board?

Can EAA afford to terminate Aquino, & is he willing to negotiate the amount of severance?

Whichever way it goes, disclosure is needed on both sides, Aquino must disclose his severance package, and the governors need to step up and take responsibility for their failures during the raid, EAA members will soon enough decide they want the security of a larger union and the bargaining power of SEIU unless EAA steps up it’s game.

If the remaining governors aren’t smart enough to realize they are in a war, maybe the referendum needs to be should EAA members clean house completely?

With the departure of Michael Davies, EAA leadership is struggling for direction, it’s time for the members to decide their future, and they had better decide quickly.